Little Bones

CBCA 2026 Shortlisted Book: Younger Readers

Winner of the 2025 Aurealis Award for Best Children's Fiction, this unique and lyrical verse novel speaks to our childhood joy of collecting small, intriguing objects and creating connections in the most unlikely places.

Since the accident, eleven-year-old Bones spends her time drawing animal skeletons and scavenging for dead things to add to her collection. She's drifted away from her friends and doesn't want to make new ones, especially not with her chatty new neighbour, Tenny.

One night, under a full moon, Bones accidentally resurrects the skeleton of a baby bird. Bird wants to return to his natural (dead) state, so Bones agrees to reverse the curse - not that she knows how. As she and Bird work out the secrets of the magic, Bones remembers what it's like to have a friend. How can she let Bird go when she doesn't want to say goodbye?

With gorgeous greyscale illustrations of Bones's collected items scattered throughout, this book is perfect for big-hearted readers of Karen Foxlee and Zana Fraillon.